If you listen to my podcast today, you'll find out how I feel about the Brewers' pursuit of future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman. If you didn't, here's my take on that in a nutshell. I'm all for it.
That being said, there are still holes on this club. Second base has not been fixed. Neither has third base. Rickie Weeks and Bill Hall are still on the roster. The only addition has been Mike Lamb (not the answer). Russell (The Muscle) Branyan left as a free agent.
But, there are even bigger holes on this team. Namely, the rotation. If the season were to start today, the Brewers would be going with Yovani Gallardo, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush, Manny Parra, and Seth McClung. I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is not the kind of rotation a contender puts out there. It's the kind of rotation that mediocre teams put out there.
The Brewers lost CC Sabathia. Ben Sheets remains a possibility to return, but my guess is that if he hasn't re-signed by now he's not going to. Besides, the fact he is still out there leads me to believe that there are teams who are not convinced he is going to be healthy enough to help in 2009.
There were reports that the Brewers were interested in St. Louis free agent starter Braden Looper. As of now, nothing has come of that, and even if it did, how much of an upgrade is Looper? There were reports the Brewers were interested in Randy Johnson, but he went to the Giants, and besides, he might be washed up anyway.
In other words, the Brewers have done diddly squat to improve the rotation this off-season. Derek Lowe appears to be headed to either New York, Philadelphia, or Boston. Randy Wolf (the guy I've been campaigning for) doesn't seem to be on GM Doug Melvin's radar.
But, I am not going to give up trying to help the Brewers. In fact, I have a brand new name they should be considering. Andy Pettitte.
Yes, the same Andy Pettitte that just rejected a $10M deal from the Yankees. The same Andy Pettitte that was named multiple times in The Mitchell Report. Yes, the same Andy Pettitte that will be thirty-seven years old on June 15th. If I'm Melvin, I'm on the phone with Pettitte now, before Joe Torre has a chance to woo him to Los Angeles (Pettitte and Torre are particularly tight).
Why am I so high on Pettitte. There are a few reasons.
The man is a bona fide winner. At one point in time he was one of the top five pitchers in the game. He may not be that guy anymore. He may not be the guy that you could call a stopper anymore. But he is a guy that will make over thirty starts a year, keep you in every ballgame, and be a guy that the youngsters (Gallardo and Parra) can look up to and go get advice from.
Don't underestimate the four World Series rings that Pettitte owns as well. He has been where this organization wants to go. He's been there many times. He's the kind of guy who can teach a young club how to deal with October baseball (sorry, four games against Philadelphia doesn't make you a seasoned playoff veteran).
And speaking of playoff experience, Pettitte has plenty of it. The guy pitched in seven fall classics and has a post-season mark of 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA. That's a pretty impressive resume.
Here are a couple of other numbers for you. In 2005, Pettitte went 4-0 against the Brewers with an ERA of 2.70 (he was 2-0 at Miller Park). In 2006, he was 1-1 against The Crew with an ERA of 1.93. If you can't beat him, and the Brewers couldn't, sign him.
I understand he turned down that $10M offer from the Yankees. So, the Brewers would be wise not to lowball him. Is Pettitte worth the $16M he was making last year? Probably not. But he is probably worth $12-$14M. And, if the Brewers were willing to make an offer of over $20M to Sabathia, then you have to think the money is there to make a run at Pettitte.
This isn't the time to pinch pennies. Fans won't accept it, and the Brewers would be wrong to think that one playoff appearance is good enough. They cannot get complacent, otherwise they'll be left in the dust.
It's your move, Doug.
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